Kate’s Comments (group member since May 23, 2014)

Kate’s comments from the UOIT FED Book Club group.

Eden Robinson's first book, a collection of three short stories and one novella, is powerful and disturbing.

Goodreads description:
"The menacing underside of family life is the subject of Eden Robinson's debut collection. In crackling prose, she describes homes ruled by bullies, psychopaths, and delinquents; families whose conflict resolution techniques range from grand theft to homicide; kids who have nowhere to go and a lifetime to get there."
The New York Times included Traplines among its Notable Books of the Year in 1996, inviting readers to discover that "Canadians are as weird and violent as anyone else on this continent."

Motorcycles & Sweetgrass was a finalist for the 2010 Governor General’s Award and a White Pine Award nominee (an Ontario Library Association Award for books appropriate for Grades 9-12). I read this book because of its crossover adult/teen appeal. It’s a great read for both audiences. Hayden uses a lot of humour (he’s a former TV writer and standup comic, among other things) and a light tone while also tackling serious issues.

Here is the Goodreads description:
Otter Lake is a sleepy Anishnawbe community where little happens. Until the day a handsome stranger pulls up astride a 1953 Indian Chief motorcycle – and turns Otter Lake completely upside down. Maggie, the Reserve’s chief, is swept off her feet, but Virgil, her teenage son, is less than enchanted. Suspicious of the stranger’s intentions, he teams up with his uncle Wayne – a master of aboriginal martial arts – to drive the stranger from the Reserve. And it turns out that the raccoons are willing to lend a hand.